A Trail of Love

                I am a missionary. I have been sent out into the world on a mission for Christ, to leave behind a blazing trail of love that leads others to Him. This is hard to wrap my mind around sometimes. There are moments when I ponder the formation I’m receiving and I almost feel as if these months abroad are simply preparation for the mission of the rest of my life. And that’s exactly how it should be. If there’s a time in my life when I feel stagnant, as though I’m not actively becoming the best version of myself, that’s when I’ll start to worry. I mean, wouldn’t it be silly to say that the height of my spiritual life was during my mission? As if afterwards, I’m just going to revert to how I thought, prayed, and lived before my mission began? May God give me the grace to always continue upwards towards Him, bringing as many of His children with me along the way!

                God provides so many opportunities for this if we are just open to Him. He’ll do all the work! He makes it so easy if we just cooperate with Him! Yesterday was a fine example of just this. I went to London to visit a friend from Texas and when our visit was over, I was ready to explore London on my own. I was so excited to take on the city without a wingman; free to go where I please and do whatever I like! But God had His own plan and boy, He is so creative! Old Street underground station happened to be closed for the weekend, so I headed off walking in who-knows-what direction in search of another station. Along comes this boy who looks to be about my age, casually walking the same way as me. I asked him if he knew what was up ahead and by the sound of his thick Dutch accent, I knew he wouldn’t give me the answer I was looking for. He was from Amsterdam, just in London for a couple of days for a job interview, and asked me if I wanted to join him for the day since we both had nothing planned. I was extremely skeptical and hesitant, but after pretending as if I didn’t hear the question the first time, I reluctantly agreed the second time he asked me.

                My new friend, Ruben, ended up being an incredibly beautiful person and I will never forget the day we spent together. He was ever so gentle and one of those people in whom Jesus is so visibly seen. He randomly asked me, out of nowhere, if I was religious. I was so taken aback because we hadn’t spoken of anything having to do with God or religion up until this point. I immediately thought, “What is God up to?!” With a shocked expression, I anxiously answered, “Yes!! Why?! How did you know?!” He simply laughed and said it was just a question. He was simply curious. And with that, Christ was so tangibly with us for the rest of the day, laced in and out of comments and conversations. How beautiful and comforting life becomes when He is invited!

                My day spent with Ruben was very special to me. I don’t know if our encounter will bring him closer to God, but I trust God’s plan and I have a feeling He brought us together for a reason. I have this beautiful image of our day spent together, traveling all over London, and everywhere we went we left behind a fiery trail of love leading to God!